Jazz Legend Joe Lovano Swings Into Town
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 26, 2010) − Hailed as "one of the greatest musicians in jazz history" by Ben Ratliff at The New York Times, local audiences are in for a treat as Joe Lovano, a post bop jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist and drummer, lands in Lexington. Joe Lovano will bring his multi-instrumental talents to the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts (SCFA) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, in the SCFA Concert Hall. The musician also will share his talents with the UK School of Music's acclaimed Jazz Studies faculty and students during his visit.
Since the late 1980s, Lovano has been one of the world’s premiere tenor saxophone players, earning a Grammy and several nods on DownBeat magazine’s critics’ and readers’ polls.
The musician was exposed throughout his early life to jazz by his father, Tony "Big T" Lovano. John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt were some of the artist's earlier influences. Lovano developed further at Berklee College of Music, where he studied under Herb Pomeroy and Gary Burton, then served a big band apprenticeship with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd and the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.
Lovano often plays lines that convey the rhythmic drive and punch of an entire horn section. In the early 1980s, he began working in John Scofield’s Quartet and a bass-less trio with Paul Motian and Bill Frisell. Steeped in the tradition of Ornette Coleman, Motian’s recordings show off Lovano’s avante-garde abilities. Scofield’s Quartet straddled the line between "inside" and "outside." These recordings feature some of Lovano’s best work. As one of the top saxophonists, Lovano continues to grow and explore as a musician. He has a husky tenor tone and takes a modern approach to improvisation.
Lovano is currently a jazz artist on the international level. His live work, specifically "Quartets: Live at the Village Vanguard," garnered a DownBeat Jazz Album of the Year award. Other releases include "Trio Fascination" and "52nd Street Themes." Lovano also contributed on the critically acclaimed McCoy Tyner album "Quartet," playing the tenor saxophone. In 2006, he released "Streams of Expression," a tribute to two different genres of jazz, cool and free. Lovano also currently leads a quartet with Berklee faculty and students.
In addition to the Saturday evening concert, Lovano will conduct a master class/clinic from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, in the SCFA Recital Hall. For more information on this event, contact Miles Osland, director of Jazz Studies at UK School of Music, at (859) 257-8173.
Tickets for the Joe Lovano concert, presented by SCFA and the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center, are based on seating location and range from $32 to $25. A processing fee will be added upon completion of transaction. Tickets can be purchased through the Singletary Center Ticket Office at (859) 257-4929, online at www.singletarytickets.com, or in person at the ticket office.